Somehow even though I have always been a big fan of the series. I have never played Doom 3. It was an error I had always meant to correct. A hole in my gaming knowledge that I needed to fix and yet for some reason, a hole I have never got round to filling. I had various excuses firstly the game wasn’t great, it didn’t control well, it was too dark, it needed a very, very expensive PC to run it and a whole other host of excuses I had given to myself over the years to justify my non-play.
Yet as these excuses were slowly fixed, the game was released on the XBox, PS3 and eventually the PS4, the ability to hold a torch was added in so you didn’t have to choose between being able to see or being able to shoot, for some reason I still couldn’t take the plunge. Had the game in my basket on numerous occasions on various different consoles and still couldn’t take the plunge. Something always held me back a little voice in the back of my mind always telling me to ”wait”
Now I know why. I held back because it’s coming to VR and (fingers crossed) it’s going to be amazing. The final and best way to play this game. After all who doesn’t want to scream into a headset as they curl up in a tiny ball on the floor, watching in disbelief in a CyberDemon tears you in half
It’s going to be amazing. Plus you can use your Aim controller on the PSVR
Don’t worry your not the only one. I have spent much more time than I would like to admit trawling websites, hoping to spot one out in the wild or stalking the PS5UK Twitter streams in the hope that I may be one of the very, very few that actually manages to grab one of these new shiny console’s before they are either all snapped up by bots or by those lucky few that just happen be on the website at the right time.
I don’t even know why I want one, I really don’t. Just caught up in the hype. It’s not like I will suddenly overcome my aversion to Dark Souls. I don’t have the capacity to die over and over again, just to learn and be a tiny bit better next time. Plus and this is probably what’s really stopping me is with everything else seemingly released on the PS4 I know I should just wait until the consoles are readily available and there is something I want to play.
So as I given into the fact that I will playing on the PS4 for some time yet, I decided to do an inventory of all the PS4 games that I have played over the last six years and make a note of what I should play and in doing that I had a little run down memory lane. As I looked across old saved files and trophies half forgotten I remembered all the good times I had with the PS4 and remembered some of the more obscure games that had been forgotten, not just by me but maybe the gaming community as well. So I thought as I had the time and a need to do something with my laptop that wasn’t refresh Twitter every few seconds I decided to create a list. A list of five PS4 games that you probably have in your backlog but, for reasons now lost to time, forgotten to play
Some maybe obvious some may make you shake your head but, at least I am not on Twitter 🙂
Mad Max.
You forgot it even released on the PS4 didn’t you? It’s okay, until about six months ago I had forgotten it existed as well – I guess that’s what happens when you release your game on the same day as Metal Gear Solid V: The Forgotten Pain. It is however a solid RPG with decent fight mechanics, excellent driving and an open world that feels somehow alive despite being very, very desolate and you have a pretty decent game. With the added Cherry on the top of this once being a ”free” PS Plus game you to may have this one gathering dust in your digital library
Mad Max the forgotten king of the wasteland
Concrete Genie
Okay, I will forgive you for forgetting about Mad MAX an obscure title from a few years ago. The next title on my list; the wonderful Concrete Genie should not be such a blast from the past as it is currently one of the ”free” titles available this month with PS Plus subscription and a good game it is. It has been in my ”about to buy” list more times than I care to remember and yet despite numerous good reviews, I just didn’t get round to picking it up. Yet I am more than happy to be playing it now. Its a wonderful contrast to the grey, overcast days we are currently experiencing here in the UK, a colourful bolt of light in our grey days. It’s a game where all you do is create, to bring back to life an old derelict shipping village with the help of genies you create using the PS4 as a magical paint brush. It’s a lovely tonic for the soul, With no death, no fighting and nothing in the way of stress.
Firewall Zero Hour
Can you sense a pattern emerging with my picks? Yes you guessed it this is another game that was once, back in years past available through PS Plus. Don’t worry though as Firewall Zero Hour is completely different from the other two. This is a PSVR game. Don’t groan. It’s really good. I promise. If your into team communication and like shouting out strange army words like ”spector inbound” and are not surprised when random strangers shout out ”’GO, GO, GO ”for the 27th time in row then this is a game for you. The only caveats to enjoying it are A; having a PSVR headset and B; Having the Aim controller. This game was made for the Aim controller in mind and it really shows, the level of immersion is simply stunning it will have you thinking your in the military in a matter of minutes.
Abzu
The next game up on our list isn’t a shooter, doesn’t have you driving through a wasteland fighting to survive or even have you trying to reconnect with your community. It also has not been ( as far as I know) ever appeared on PS Plus but it is a completely delightful and utterly beautiful experience. Abzu is a game created by one of the creators behind the excellent Journey and if you have played that then you will know what kind of game this game is . For this is a game about starting again. About tranquillity, about peace. Maybe even the meaning of existence. Well at least that’s my take on it, on what I make of the story. The game world has been overpopulated to the point of extinction and that is exactly what has happened. Most things on what I think is Earth have vanished. You are a part of the last few reaming people left on Earth and your task is to see, what’s in the sea. A Sea that as first, is quiet, with only a few shoal’s of fish swimming here and there but as you progress through the game you are able to unlock various different species of fish (and some mammals) and as these new species are added to the game they add an extra array of colour and variety to the levels that truly has to be seen to be believed. A bit of sunshine on a grey day
The Order 1886
The most controversial game on this list by a long way. I don’t blame you for not playing it. It is a wildly indifferent thing, a deeply conflicted thing. The negatives are many it has; dodgy AI, indifferent character controls, a beautiful look but don’t touch world, sluggish pacing and too many other negatives to name, but it has some positives as well; it is utterly gorgeous to look at, a story that’s good when it get’s going, characters that are for the most part well rounded and cut scenes that are a thing to behold, they really are a thing of beauty. Yes the gun-play maybe be dodgy and the game may finish just as you start to get invested in it but, I left wanting more. I wanted the story to continue and that is why it’s in this list, plus it’s got werewolves, who doesn’t love a werewolf story?
Any on this list take your fancy? Any recomendations you can give to me?
Let me know in the comments below
P.S I am not actually allowed to play Firewall anymore. I live in a flat and apparently my neighbours don’t like it when a grown man screams out” Alpha, Tango, Charlie. GO. GO GO” at four in the morning
P.P.S Haven’t actually completed Concrete Genie yet, so if the cute little Genie creatures turn out to be a murderous horde conjured up from another dimension – you have been warned 🙂
Dear reader, yes, you read that correctly. No need to do a double-take.
the developers of We Where Here, Total Mayhem Games have just popped up on the PlayStation blog to say that the first chapter of their release is ready now and its free to download.
It looks the first chapter has been released today, for free with the next two chapters releasing on the 23rd of February ( which I don’t think are free)
It’s free but will you want to play it?
It seems to be a cooperative first-puzzle adventure where your goal is to escape and all you and you cooperative partner have to aid you is a pair of walkie-talkies and you and your partner will be challenged to work on the same wavelength to escape
from what I have read about the game, it sounds really interesting and as it’s free I am sure I will give it ago. The only problem I can see is that it is only playable online with a co-op partner. That sucks but, I am sure I can find someone to help me out.
Maybe. Just maybe. If we all close eyes and think really nice thoughts. We may, if we are really lucky. Get A remake of the N64 classic Goldeneye
I know it’s fanciful
I know it’s probably not going to happen. I’m trying to not get my hopes up. I know that even though Rare made the game, Nintendo own the rights to Goldeneye and they don’t seem very interested in a remake. Which is a shame.
And yet somehow. Somewhere deep in my very being I think that it might, could be possible. I don’y know why. I have no proof , it’s coming. Nothing confirmed or even rummoured.
It’s just that after seeing the footage of the now abandoned remake, I can’t stop thinking how good a remake would look on current-gen consoles. The machine guns sparking to life as bullets spill from their guns. The remake of all the faces, removing all the late 90’s facial animations and replacing them with current-gen tech. Just imagine the smile on the face of Jaws as his teeth glitter in the sunlight, It makes me smile just to think of it.
Plus. Just imagine the Multiplayer? One of the multiplayer games of it’s or any other generation. A true spectacle. A four player multi-player game that was perfect in it’s inception (no odd job)a true game of cat and mouse like cunning. With modes that could last hours of minutes a true test of skill (and luck). Just imagine it with todays technology. New game modes added regularly could make this a game we never stop playing. One that could go on for years, creating new stories, new memories for years to come.
Star Wars: Squadrons the imminent release by EA Motive is carrying a lot of pressure on it’s shoulders, If ever there was a game that needed to go right out of the gate. It’s this one. After a few failed attempts with the Star Wars licence and a couple of successes EA really needs this game to work and really needs it to be a hit with fans alike.
You could even argue that EA would prefer a critical hit to a commercial successes. Of course the publisher will want both but, if push came to shove I think EA would take the critical acclaim first and foremost and this is because the game is carrying the hopes and dreams of so many different people. The bases it touches are all different and unique and a hit with any of the many different demographics could prove crucial to not only EA’s long term success but also how Disney view the licencing agreement of one of the most lucrative licensing deals in the world. The licence to make future Star Wars games.
I mean just look at the groups this game will be most heavily marketed too
1 Gamers. Probably the group EA is targeting the most. After all this is a game! There also the group that EA will have to handle with kid gloves as EA does not have the best reputation in the game industry. With the vocal minority in the gaming community constantly berating EA as a terrible place to work that wants profit over innovation and is happy to re-skin a sports title each year and just reap in the rewards. This is EA’s big shot. Plus the fact the the game is developed by EA Motive and not the main arm of EA could help swing some of the less critical parts of the internet in their favour
2 VR Okay bear with me. I know I just listed gamers as my number 1 pick but, I am going to cheat a little and add a section in for VR gamers. After all Star Wars: Squadrons is seen as something of a holy grail amongst VR gamers and VR enthusiast alike. I mean doesn’t want to fly a space ship through space dodging giant space boulders and laser fire left and right. It’s everyone’s space fantasy come true to life and could be utterly breath taking in VR. There is a chance the immersion could be truly incredible and could be the game that does for VR what Sonic and Mario did for home consoles all those years ago. Be a game that defies the term ”it’s only a game” and lives outside of that shell a game description. It could ne something that everybody wants to play and with it looking incredible outside of VR we won’t have to repeat the old line ” you have to see it in VR” People will want to pick it up for themselves
3 The Children. Think of the children EA. The Star Wars franchise must be one of the easiest thing to sell. Stick a S tar Wars logo on anything from a chocolate bar to a stuffed toy and it’s bound to sell more units. We all know that Star Wars: Squadron is game that will sell well with children from kids badgering their parents to Grand Parents picking it up at Christmas just because it has a recognizable logo on the box – basically it’s going to sell. The problem here is that if it’s bad and I mean really, really bad this could hurt EA going into the future. After all who wants to buy anything from a company that made a bad game about flying a space ship in the Star Wars universe? I mean how can you get that wrong. Its just sheer wish fulfilment
So there you have it. There you have my three ( very long winded) reasons why I hope Star Wars: Squadrons won’t suck.
I am now going to sit here. Fingers crossed until the first reviews are out
It’s the return of Street’s of Rage the fourth in the long running series of side-scrolling beat em up brawlers and it is wonderful. A real passion project from developers DOTEMU and Sega is a real labour of love. A masterpiece of the highest order a real bone-crunching, table smashing, world saving tour de force with a soundtrack to match
Its safe to say that I love the game and let me try and break down some of the reasons why:
The first and probably most important thing for me is that it takes me way back to 1992 yes, all the way back then. A time when you sat huddled around your CRT television and you pickled your side and stuck with it. You were team Sega or team Nintendo and that was it. A time when I was nothing but a mere slip of a gamer. A gamer that wanted nothing more than to beat up a few goons, save the world and ”accidently” hit whomever was playing as the second character a few too many times with a poorly aimed punch or special move. I had a great time doing it and I’m still not sorry.
It’s great to play. There have been many games that I have tried to pull of the way it felt to play a Streets of Rage game and many have failed. Streets of Rage 4 succeeds and then some. The fighting feels right. With a weight and a force behind the attacks that feels instant and gratifying. You can have fun just button-mashing your way through levels or take your time and really get to know the combo’s. For fans of the series and genre. It hit’s every nail on the head
It’s very, very pretty. Very pretty. Everything in the game is hand drawn and it looks it. Rage 4 is simply one of the best looking brawlers on any system. The character models look great standing still but in motion is where they really shine. Be it Axel doing his signature ”Grand Upper” move the devastating upper cut of destruction or new character Floyd and his robotic arms of Chaos, each character models sings. It’s a game so beautiful to look at the game play could be taken right of the pages of a comic book or be turned into a cartoon. It’s a pleasing delight. A feast for the eyeballs.
It sticks to what it does best. Fans of Streets of Rage have come back to the series for one reason and one reason only. To fight BAD GUYS. This is what made the Streets of Rage series so fun to start with and it’s good to see the series has not strayed from that path. There is absolutely no fluff in the game. No way to make your character incrementally stronger, no character buffs, no changes of clothes and absolutely no micro transactions. It’s a game that sticks to what it does best and is all the better for it.
The Soundtrack. Just as in the original trilogy I found myself bopping away to the sounds of this game. I am even listening to the soundtrack as I type this page out! It’s great. I don’t think there is anything on there to quite beat Yuzo Koshiro’s legendary ( in my opinion) Go Straight but it’s very good. It had my head bopping and feet tapping.
Its got multiplayer. Yes 4 player co-op is here. Yes more than one player in a Rage game is hectic. It’s chaotic as each player battles over dropped items, players rushing forward to pick up health items. Who knew food left outside was good for you! Of course you don’t want to be the player that’s always rushing forward trying to engage the next wave of enemies before your team mates have finished of the current lot but, believe me when I say that there is always some who seeks the madness of chaos the never ending charge into battle. The joyful smile on their mad face as their team mates shout at them again to stop it.
Of course if your multiplayer mates our a bunch of sadistic crazy people we know have a one on one brawler Street Fighter style for you to settle your differences. Its new to me I don’t remember it being in the original games but, here it is. Ready for you to fight with your friends
The secrets. Secret’s always give a game a bit more replay ability and Streets of Rage is no different in wanting it’s players to return for another run to save the city, so there are secrets dotted through out the game. Most of these secrets tend to be in the form of retro 16 BIT Levels! That really take you back to the era and they even come with a 16 bit CRT level filter. Great fun to play and great fun to find.
There we have it 8 reasons why I think, if you are a fan of the genre and Streets of Rage in particular Streets of Rage 4 is an absolute must-play a masterpiece of a title. I am not sure if it dethrones my personal king of the genre, the near perfect Streets of Rage 2 but that could, just be the rose-coloured spectacles talking.
Reading through all your lovely recent blog posts has reminded me to: A post more and B that there are some truly great posts out there. Where you all seem to find both the time and inspiration to post such wonderful things I will never know. It was on one of these wanders through the treasure trove of WordPress posts I stumbled across a recent post by Michelle at ageekgirlsguide.com. The post is in relation to a game we all play called ”Have you Ever” normally I steer clear of these kind of conversations, as I am just too shy 🙂 but, this one was on a topic that I am always happy to have a conversation about as this one was on Video Games. Here we go
Rage quit a game
All. of. the. Time. I know it, sounds bad. Now don’t get me wrong It’s not that screaming, controller breaking kind of rage you see videos of on YouTube. No, mine is more cerebal rage the kind that just lets out a deep breath, slowly looks at the floor and makes a decision, then quick as a flash, stops the game, and imediatelly uninstall’s it. That’s my kind of rage. That kind of quiet, mornful rage filled white hot fury . I’ve done it to many games, Games I hate and also on rare occasions I love too, some meet the great big uninstall in the sky For silly reasons and some not so silly reasons. Some games I make up with (looking at you Rocket League) and reinstall some will never again see the light of day – the pain is just too deep
Earned all achievements in a game
I have, in some TellTale games – does it count if you get the platinum just playing through the game? I am not a trophy hunter. I will usually have a look at the trophy list, just to see what’s on it before deciding that it’s just too hard or not really worth it.
Pulled an all-nighter gaming
I used too. These nights are never intentional. sometimes it just happens, if the games are good and the internet is strong some times I just forget to go to bed
Livestreamed your gaming
No, for the simple reason that I am not very good. I can’t imagine anyone would like to watch someone consitintly fail to connect with the ball in Rocket League. Seriously I am so bad it’s almost as if it’s intentional, no one could be that bad and yet hereI am mistiming jumps, forgetting to jump or somehow just ending up driving on the ceiling. I do love watching a good stream though, If you have any recommendations please send them over.
Pre-ordered a game
Never, I used to loved the rush of hunting round game shops hunting for that last copy of whatever the big release of the time happened to be.
Bought a game and never played it
Do PS Plus and XBOX Games with Gold count? If not then no. On the other hand the list of games that I have only ever played for a few minutes is quite staggering.
Been jumpscared by a horror game
I am a big, big scaredy cat. As a general rule I don’t watch or play anything horror related. I think the last horror game I watched someone play was Resident Evil on the original PlayStation the moment when you realise that all of the Zombies lying on the floor are not quite as dead as they seem (as it grabs your leg] is something that has stayed with me a long time
Bought a game on multiple platforms
No, never. I am surprised by this
Got a console for the games specifically
Too often. Far too often. Thankfully my luck has usually panned out and there have been other games released for the console that I have enjoyed playing but buying a Switch for Super Mario Odyssey and an Xbox One for Halo were big gambles for me.
Had a set squad for a specific game
Not really. I am lucky to have quite a wide circle of people who play games and we all tend to migrate from one game to the next
Thats all from me a quick thank you to https://ageekgirlsguide.com for suggesting that. Please check out the blog.
The gaming backlog. Sometimes it, can be a beast a cruel mistress, as you plunge deep into its darkest corners you will come across a game that you should never have bought in the first place, a game so different to your usual tastes the fact is you can’t even remember why you did buy it in the first place. No, no sale price is ever lower enough for some of the games that litter the bottom of my pile of shame.
However, sometimes you, the trepid explorer are rewarded, the mistress of the backlog looks kindly upon you, digging as you are among the debris and detritus of your passed gaming fascinations and your enquiring hands are rewarded with a little nugget of gaming gold and that my friends is how I stumbled across the wonderfully strange Donut County
What brought this game to attention originally was it strange cartoonish art style and it’s even wackier soundtrack, coupled with the fact that it was on sale ( I am a sucker for a sale) and on the Nintendo Switch. A console I am almost always about to play before, something else invariably pops up. I bought the game with all of the best of intentions and yet it still sat on my Nintendo Switch un-played and unloved for the next six months. In fact I forgot I had it until my wife wanted to use the PlayStation to watch Netflix and kicked me unceremoniously out of the living room and with my house only containing the one TV and me still being in a gaming mood, I decided to give the Switch some much needed love and attention ( the battery on these things never seems to die) and so I turned on the console, flipped through the few games I have for it and decided on a quick game of:
Donut County
It’s a strange old beast this Donut County, it is, I guess a puzzle game, a puzzle game where you play as a hole, Yep a tiny little hole. A hole that get’s bigger as you manage to get ever larger items to fall into it. You start of maybe being able to get a cone to fall into your hole but, as you progress your hole with become ever larger with it being so big as to enable you to get entire houses to fall into you. Its an interesting mix of very tiny, puzzle scenarios. Puzzles that wouldn’t give a very young child too much of a headache but, with some added elements like being able to set your hole on fire or being able to hold water in the hole without it falling through and you will see that this is quite a clever little puzzle game, With no time limits and no death. Just remember that the hole must be fed, always think about how to get everything on screen into the hole and you will be fine
it has a story, one that I won’t go into much here as I think it would run into deep spoilers here. So let me just say that it works fine and keeps you involved in the game for the few hours of its run time
The soundtrack is brilliant. I really like it but, it won’t be for everyone. Donut County is a game full of charm and wants to make you smile. If that’s not the mood your in right now, that’s okay. Come back to it. I think the silliness of it’s ideas, the cartoonish presentation and very short run time. The hole game can be finished in a few hours are a bonus. It’s a great game and one I really enjoyed spending time with and I know my Switch loved the attention as well.
Hi future me hope your well? If your reading this note, you are now waiting for the PSVR exclusive Blood and Truth to either install from the disk, download a patch or possibly, if the gaming Gods are really against you, your sitting there twiddling your thumbs as not only has the game taken ages to install but, you now have to install a soding great update file as well. Only time will tell, but right now in the what is your past, I think? Your sitting, looking at your phone far, far too much as you wait for the little message to pop up saying that your delivery has been dispatched. Your having a great time, aren’t you? Lucky boy. just try and remember a few things in the time between the you now and you in the 24 hours between typing this up and you playing the game
1: Spoilers are real. Try not to watch to many trailers, game play throughs and video reviews. Try and save something for your first play through. Try not to ruin it before you have even played it
2: Appreciate the moment. Give yourself a chance to enjoy the game, no rushing through to get to the end as quickly as possible, relax, take a deep breath take in the sights. You only get one first time.
3: Charge the Move controllers. You know you should have done it by now
4: Re-calibrate the Move controllers. This, you really should have been done by now. there veering to the left more than Nan after few seasonal sherries. It won’t just fix itself
5: Try not to say ”have it” too much, you are not a South London gangster. No matter how much the game tells you are
6: You have neighbours – try not to shout too loud. Just because you can’t hear them with your headphones on, it doesn’t mean they can’t hear you swear
7: Take a break. Too much VR gives even the most hardened gangster a headache
8: Ask your self why some of the baddies roll around like they are auditioning for a part in the N64 game Goldeneye. Then shoot them before they get a chance to stand up
9: Try and not get too upset when you try and catch a grenade – miss and blow yourself up
10: Try and not make a phew phew sound every time you shoot. Its not cool, your an adult, apparently
And there we are 8 tips to hopefully help future me enjoy Blood and Truth, if it turns up tomorrow and 2 things I really should do now. After all you can’t play with the Move controllers if you should be shooting left but all the controllers want to do is show you the right side of the screen and charging them up is really going to help getting the whole thing going.
What about you, are you planning to release you inner villain?
This, is an odd one but bare with me for a second, every now and again, do you get an urge to play a game that you would never normally play? A game that just wouldn’t be something you would usually be interest in? Well, its something I do often and this time the crush was on a game we will of all heard of and that is the PS4 exclusive Days Gone
It all started with a Horde.
That’s what got my attention. Sony Bends, horde tech really caught my attention, I was bored with ”zombie” games, time has past and I really think it’s time for something new, to go in a new narrative direction, I don’t know what that new direction is but, the Zombie survival genre has been done to death. but, when from the moment I saw my first horde in a promotional video on the Sony YouTube channel I was hooked, I couldn’t wait to live in that world, to feel the fear rise in my throat, the hair standing up on the back of my neck as the horde raced towards me intent on tearing me limb from limb.
I was so exited
I started to watch every video ,every press release I could findfor not only were there dangers from the Zombie hordes but what had ever had infected the local population had not stopped with the human population it also spread to the local wildlife as well! I was in wonder as I watched the player run or drive on their motorcycle from infected Wolves or even Bears. I was so exited, this looked like a fully, living, breathing environment where the most intricate plan could be destroyed in a moment as an infected Bear, or horde crashes through an enemy encampment, Would this help or hinder you? nobody knows and I couldn’t wait to find out.
Then the reviews started to come in.
I started to worry, IGN were less than positive, awarding the game a 6.50 on release, I tried to stay positive, moved onto Games Radar, that was better but, still not great, I moved on again, this time to Polygon, again not good, Push Square no better – in fact it was getting worse. I visited site after site and everyone said they same things, the game was boring, the combat was poor, the AI was poor. My crush started to wain – would I wait for a sale? Was it worth it? Still reading reviews on any site I could find, I turned into a Days Gone detective, trying to find anything to save my beloved crush. Nothing came to its rescue, the game was long over long, it was boring, repetitive, the horde tech was good but, it was out done by the negatives. Was this it, would I have to end it with my crush, before we had even begun?
Things started to change.
I started to see re-reviews, second opinions. People had played the game again, borrowed it from friends and were now seeing a different game, a game not weighed down by the expectations of the other Sony exclusives such as God of War or Spiderman. No Days Gone wasn’t getting scores in the 9s or 10s but it was getting a lot of 7s and even a few 8s. After all a games negatives are a lot easier to look past if your not expecting a masterpiece.
I still haven’t paid for Days Gone. Its still on my wish list, I will pick it up one day but the initial spark of interest I had in it is gone, moved onto pastures new ( Blood and Truth for the PSVR) but, I know one day our time will come.
What about you, have you tried Days Gone? Did you like it?
